


Memento Amoris

by meiqis



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, because teacher tropes are everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 03:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17113328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/pseuds/meiqis
Summary: “Do you still remember your first day here?” He asked into the silence of the room, one he wasn’t sure had been born from his own being distracted or his personal intruder using a silencing charm upon himself, but neither did it matter much, because he could remember that very first day of the younger back then, even though their difference in age had been of merely one year.orin which Yanjun recalls their school days and experiences while watching the passing of season from the perspective of a teacher





	Memento Amoris

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrywons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrywons/gifts).



> I promised my little gemstone to write this for her as Christmas present so here we go!  
> Actually, I had this nearly finished already a week ago but stress, stress, stress so it came with a delay...  
> Anyways, to all those reading this, I can only wish a merry Christmas and joyful celebration, to receive a lot of love and only what is good!
> 
> Now, to get this mess with a badly written ending started because a writer like me can't write these well...

Hufflepuffs are loyal, they are friendly and kind, that is what he had heard all his life long, and it was a memory that came back to him ever so often as he looked at the new students mingling in the yard, merely a few days around and already so excited, easily parting into those that already knew lots about the magical world and those, mostly the muggle-born, who hardly knew anything of their world and had to learn it all anew, and then sorted again, based on their houses, reds mingling with reds and the blue with the blue, rarely could he spot any of the colors that seemed to be more prominent on summer uniforms now to blend with each other and that, too, seemed to only awake those memories further within him.  
Some might say he hadn’t been quite that lucky, looking at his origin, that was, merely born from a florist and a Magizoologist, and although his mother might have easily been able to teach Herbology at a magical school or institute, she had found the language of flowers way more fascinating - that she had still raised magical plants and herbs in the wintergarden of their house for sale was a different kind of story - and enough so to prefer living in the human world to found her own shop, or at least that was what mostly Slytherins and Gryffindors would say, but just looking at his roots and his family standing, back then he had thought that Hufflepuff seemed to be the most natural choice of house for him, and up to this day he would thank the Sorting Hat for such decision.  
Hufflepuffs, said to be friendly, kind, honest and loyal, seemed to fit him not because of these traits but exactly because of his origin, to want to treat plants and growing up raising herbs, he had learned a lot about not only the flowers humans gift each other on special occasions, or the herbs they use for medicine and eatery, but also those magical plants, even though he had to say those like the Venomous Tentacula or Mandrake most definitely weren’t amongst his faves, not to mention the many books about the creatures he had read during those times he was left alone at home when his parents had gone out to buy groceries or whatever, the many questions he had asked his father whenever he was allowed to come along on a travel or had played with one of the smaller animals taken to their home for the durance of a few days, those combined had easily lead to him idolizing people like Newt Scamander since his young childhood days, so he had easily been overjoyed to be sorted as such.  
Other people, though, had apparently not so much agreed on this, because weeks after his enrolling the school he could still hear the questions behind him, and also those around him, asked in class by peers of other houses, asked in the common room by several of the same age, all wondering how someone like him, with such a bad face, stern gaze and bad impression, had been sorted into the kindest of the houses, and back then, despite not being bothered by those outings of wonderment, he had still felt grateful to find someone accepting him with ease within a short time, taking shape in a bubbly and loud and apparently ten years younger You Zhangjing, someone who seemed to be living from inhaling magical calorie-free bread, and that they gained a certain kind of reputation, the muggle-born always eating Hufflepuff with his grim looking bodyguard.  
Thinking back to it, it truly had been a magical time - pun intended - with all their little outings, not that either of them had been that eager to break any rules to explore the woods or something, but those times they had been sitting in their own common room and tending to the potted plants around or raised their own miniature winter garden in the confines of their room, making use of small spells to have tiny rain clouds hovering above the soiled greens, and a handful of times even just in their first half a year there it had lead to those spells backfiring and their rooms getting swamped, before they had managed to get a better grip on their spells, or that one time they had received the wrong seeds and the carnivorous plant had not only nearly managed to gobble up his pet but also their youngest prefect’s arms, that it might have to do with a growth encouraging charm wasn’t something he’d admit to either.  
Not like all their days had been like this, he could remember countless times they had just lain in their beds, too, and cuddled with their pets, Zhangjing trying to teach his owl some tricks like catching treats in the air only to hide her beneath his blanket in case one of the prefects would rouse from her screams, knowing she wasn’t supposed to be in the room when she should be kept in the Owlery most times, and by all that was good, he didn’t manage to remember her name anymore, not her proper one, he did remember her beautiful plumage and her nearly glossy look, he did remember they had called her Bunny, as some sort of homage to his own pet, but not her real one, the overly complicated one that seemed to pale next to this nickname they had preferred using, because it was an entertaining hint to Bullfrog, the black and white bunny even nowadays sitting on her pillow in another corner of his room on the couch, living her life as if she hadn’t outlived her expected span by a dozen or more, and if Hogwarts had mistakenly filed his writing “Bullfrog/Bunny” on the papers all those years ago as her actually being a paddock with a funny name, he surely hadn’t been one to complain, not when it had meant he had been allowed to keep her for years to go.  
Back then it had been fascinating, and it had never lost its intriguing charm, the way the turn of seasons had come around, as reds and golds had painted the yards and gardens, as white was slowly covering the castle as if it were but a gingerbread house slowly getting sprinkled sugar on, there had been the slow blooming of spring with its greens and pinks and yellows, and each of those seasons was as charming as another, and now this very change of scenes that had fascinated him ever since would enchant all these students down in the yards, cheerfully running around, it was so easy to part the freshmen from the already residential ones, and he kept his eyes on them even as he felt something weighing down his shoulders.  
“Do you still remember your first day here?” He asked into the silence of the room, one he wasn’t sure had been born from his own being distracted or his personal intruder using a silencing charm upon himself, but neither did it matter much, because he could remember that very first day of the younger back then, even though their difference in age had been of merely one year.  
“You ask that every year, why would you think my answer would change, dear?”  
It was the kind of reply that had him chuckle as he kept his gaze trained on the youngsters still, it was a habit the always picked up on the first week of school, trying to find a pair just like them, a pair so different and unexpected, he couldn’t even remember the very exact reason as to why they had actually had an encounter with each other, he just vaguely recalled it had something to do with this new kid having run into one of the older Gryffindors, someone who had been in his last year and a Head Boy on top, but instead of properly apologizing, that kid had only just tilted his head and asked whether there was any problem, and he was quite sure about anyone back then had fallen for those big, bright and supposedly innocent eyes, yet it had only been him demanding an apology from this freshman back then, and he wasn’t sure whether that should have been considered their starting point just then, not when for the following years there had hardly been anything happening between him and a then-Slytherin, at least no more than garnering a certain kind of reputation, both on their own and together.  
“I’m just wondering where our memories differ and when they will start to,” he answered and finally turned around, turning in his chair while also making sure to grab that tiny waist of the other he was already pulling onto his lap, leading to them being curled up in his extensive seat within less than a few seconds, a routine they were used to already, a routine that included the younger sitting sideways, legs dangling over the armrest, and leaning the remains of a lithe weight against his chest as he wrapped them around his visitor, continuing his words only as he was gently rubbing his nose against short hair, pressing his lips to a temple revealed ever since that last haircut that had seemed so unexpected, “And I like to think back to those days. Not like our house ghosts aren’t eager enough already to tell our stories as if there were nothing more interesting than that.”  
“I would like to say that I can’t understand Nich not getting tired of talking about us but, you know, the pretty attract the gossip,” Zhengting said with his overdone confidence, head tilted in that very same way as it always was when there was something to request, and this time around he wasn’t sure whether to indulge the younger or not, could only attempt to reach for the other’s hand to raise to his lips, kissing the silver band wrapped around one of the digits softly, and maybe he would have kissed another spot to, if not for the rapping against his door that pulled them out of their minute little bubble, those few moments they wanted to indulge, and it was soon followed by one of the prefects of his house sticking his head past the door to get their attention.  
“Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt but Liz is calling for you, something about a fight in the hallway she can’t resolve and a spell casting some damage to the school which we can’t stop,” Liron recited cheerfully, as if he wasn’t actually talking about a minor crisis right now, but that did nothing to his liking the new member of their little caretaking group, even if it was only for the fact that this young boy was always volunteering to help out in the greenhouses and sometimes brought along some flowers, for his teacher to give them to his husband. Just about to get up from his chair and tell Zhengting to stay behind, he found himself prevented from doing just that when the student spoke up again, “Oh, and, Sir… The fight is with a Slytherin.”  
That comment, apparently, was enough to have the younger teacher shake his head as part of some fond memories while Yanjun could only sigh, not sure whether he could yet be quite as delighted in the knowledge of possibly having found the successors to their little story, and either way, right now it didn’t matter much, not when their school was suffering damage and even his Head Girl wasn’t able to break off a fight, so he could only grab that beringed hand to hold in his, dragging his still amused husband outside his office to follow the teenager, all while remembering that one time they had been stuck in quite a similar situation.

“I’m dead beat,” Zhengting greeted him with just a few weeks later, dropping into his seat at the teacher’s table next to his, bag dropping heavily and there was an ominous clinking of glass but no one seemed to be able to say something to the exhausted professor who could barely stand, already flopping down onto his chair, the armrests magically disappearing just to offer a chance at falling against his husband to misuse as pillow.  
And the latter could hardly protest the skinship, not when the dark circles had been evident since a while now, despite being covered up with a little cosmetic charm, or drowned with a little potion to recharge on youthful freshness and glow, whenever it wasn’t evident in looks, he was still able to see the light drag of movements and the heightened clumsiness of the younger, and despite the masses of students sitting right in front of them and feeling hundreds of curious eyes on them, it didn’t stop him from wrapping his arm around a too slender body to pull closer against his and press his lips to a mass of brown hair.  
“I did tell you Potions and Defence against Dark Arts would be too much for you to handle on your own,” he said softly, reprimanding the younger for this kind of self-conjured doom and tragedy, but it wasn’t like it was all to be actually faulted onto the two-timing teacher, it had merely been a sad coincidence of their Potions teacher having run into pregnancy problems, and her replacement not being able to jump in for another few weeks, there only had been the solution of someone else to take the job, it was merely another unfortunate coincidence that amongst all the teachers, Zhengting was the one with the best abilities in that kind of area, but juggling two core classes at once, it surely wasn’t an easy task. “And don’t tell me I’m no better than you just because I, too, hold two classes of my own.” Because even if he did, he found it was quite different.  
For one, Herbology was a subject that was like second nature to him now, the spells in the greenhouses were working well to keep the plants in check, and some of his more motivated students in higher years were also helping him out at several occurrences, be it easy tasks such as checking on his enchanted rain clouds or making sure all plants were watered well, up to a bit more difficult ones like feeding the carnivorous plants or hence they’d get intrigued with eating humans, and for another, Care of Magical Creatures was quite as easy, because the bigger animals needed little more than his attention and their food, able to care for themselves quite well, and even the small ones, like the Augurey sitting in his office on warmer days and leaving for the outside on the rainy ones, playing matchmaker in its own ways because for sure, being able to forecast downfall would only do so much for Yanjun’s nerves in winter, when it was about to snow every other day, and it lead to him retreating to the Dark Arts classroom to take refuge, knowing all too well who’d greet him there.  
“Because pets and plants are way easier to take care of than a whole class suddenly thinking they’re in love because someone messed up a potion,” the voice next to him agreed all too willingly, and he would have missed out on the connotation of that comment if not for the following words that drew his attention quite well, “You still have that scent of lime and basil on you…” It made him smile, the memory of what had taken place so many, many years ago in that small classroom, just that he didn’t say it out loud, not when he deemed it more important to have the younger next to him eat now, especially considering that body melting beneath his touch at night had become a tad more bony than he liked to see on his already so thin partner.  
So he spent the next minutes making sure the overtime working one was eating well and possibly even double the servings, but it didn’t take long for him to travel back to this one afternoon in his head as he kept on watching and absent-mindedly spooning his own soup, a story he was sure Sir Nicholas was eager to tell at several encounters, which also had him wonder just why the Gryffindor houseghost was so involved in a story that contained a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin only… And as seemed to be fitting of their houses, they most definitely hadn’t gotten along back then, not when Zhengting had always been using this trick, one he’d had considered dumb back then, of tilting his head aside while asking for whatever he wanted, as if those brown eyes were chanting a spell of their own, and leading to usually just the aimed for result, and it had seemingly been only him to be willing to deny the sly youngster of whatever was attempted again.  
There had been countless of sayings about them, about the Slytherin boy who’d get away with anything, because the parents were just the right amount of influential, because of pretty looks, because of the unfailing confidence and charms, and the Hufflepuff no one could believe was one, not with that grim stare and the way he was always scolding a certain green-tied underclassman, and it had been no surprise their relationship had only worsened once he had become a prefect, giving him the ability to deduct housepoints for all the little offenses committed from the younger.  
For these reasons he had never understood a very certain turnabout point, namely as he had taken extra classes in Potions to prepare for his OWL exam, whereas Zhengting might have just joined out of sheer fun, he hadn’t actually ever questioned the choices leading up to their encounter, but he had been very well aware of how they had stood at each side of the table, checking the cauldron together to mix the love potion they had been told to try out, before they’d get into discussing any and all discrepancies surrounding this special mixture, he had been happy about the scent of flowers that was spreading out as the tincture had kept simmering on top of its flames, just the kind of reaction he had been expecting after being told most love potions would be accompanied by the scent of that which was beloved. Something he hadn’t expected, and up to this day he wasn’t sure whether to be happy or not, had been the reaction of his forced companion though, the little blown out eyes and startled expression as a nimble voice had called out, “Basil and lime…”  
Basil and lime, even back then, it had been his preferred perfume, and he hadn’t quite dared indulge such thought further, but starting that day, that he was sure of, the troublemaker had suddenly stopped giving him a headache, whenever it was him observing the younger doing something deemed wrong, instead of arguing or doing this dumb (cute) headtilt again, there had only been a bow and apology in Chinese and then the boy had been gone, and first hearing his mother tongue again, even though a different dialect, it must have awoken a certain kind of homesickness in him, or maybe it was just the change in attitude, but it had also become harder and harder for him to get mad with the Slytherin, even to the point he had lost his immunity to all kinds of approaches and advances.  
It was at least two hours later as they fell down into their bed, inside the little apartment provided for them in one of the castle towers, surely they did also own a small townhouse in London, not to mention the Zhu residence in his husband’s country of origin, but at the end of a tiring day, between needing to travel all the way home or just sleeping within school grounds, the latter had definitely seemed more appealing all over again, and they could still consider themselves lucky, at least they had received one of the bigger apartments for their marital status.  
Comfortable silence was surrounding them as he was reading his book, could hear the rustle of fabric as the other curled deeper into the blankets, and against him, and it seemed to be the most natural to caress the head resting against his stomach with his hand freed from holding the book up, when a soft little question was interrupting the mood instead, “Did I ever tell you why I suddenly smelled your perfume that day?”  
“Hm… So you’re admitting to it having been my perfume finally?” Without looking up from his book nor interrupting his reading, he still managed to reply with ease, no need to even ask about the day or moment Zhengting had hinted at with his words, not when it had been this very day he had been thinking about too, just some while ago, those little words describing the exact scent of his when he had still been hung up on the scent of home, the scent of a place he loved.  
“I was upset…” The reply came as a mutter, soon followed by dainty-fingered patterns drawn on his thigh, slowly, the warmth of the touch penetrating the cover of the blanket spread out over them. “Back then, when you became a prefect and always seemed to pick on me- when you didn’t fall for my charms- I was really upset… ‘Just who is this guy to do that? Why does this darn Hufflepuff focus on me like that? A Hufflepuff!’ So I wanted to find out what’s so great about you, why they all just obey you so easily… I was expecting to find a black sheep in your house, your face seemed to fit the stereotype of someone beating up others in hidden spots and just excelling at covering it up with magic or something…”  
That suggestion had him snort, it wasn’t like it had been a rumor he hadn’t heard back then, but he also hadn’t heard it since back then, the idea of this bad boy within the gentle mannered house, because after his graduation it wasn’t all that relevant anymore, to work as an Auror, his house hadn’t mattered much, instead, his grim face had been considered an advantage in the field, working well to intimidate whoever they were after only to then break the tension with his unexpected behavior wherever it was needed, and coming back to their small but cozy apartment at night, it had truly made for a perfect day. To hear those words again now, after all this time, had him grinning as he tucked the dried flower he was using as mark between the pages and put the book aside just so he could focus on his husband entirely.  
“I followed you with my eyes or even down the hallways whenever I saw you in between or after classes, isn’t that dumb?” The little smile he could see spreading on that handsome face turned towards their fireplace still was warming his heart too, easing him into the situation in such a natural manner. “But instead I saw you going to help feed the Hippogriffs or tending the plants in the greenhouse… I think the moment I was most impressed with was as you had this little singing plant in your hands, I’m not sure where you had taken it from but you brought it to the greenhouse and then you tended it, singing with it to make it bloom and never before had I considered describing a plant as happy but as your voice echoed around… You looked really beautiful that day, you know?”  
Lightly he raised his eyebrows as he looked down at the younger so cozily curled up in his lap, seeming so happy and relaxed, overjoyed and tired, it really was an odd mixture but it was even weirder to know this combination was born from love and exhaustion alike. “You mean to say I don’t look handsome everyday? And here I thought we shared some mutual infatuation!”  
He was rewarded with a slap in return, mitigated thanks to the blanket covering them still, but it was evident as punishment regardless of that, ensued by a little pout and sulky huff and then the story picked up again, “That might have been the most fascinating, it led to me being unable to avert my eyes from you, I was so desperate to find a hole in your ploy, when you’d slip up and somehow I must have fallen in love with you… I just didn’t know until I smelled your perfume… Double dumb, I guess…” Huffing at himself, it was more a sound of amusement that escaped the younger rather than one of disdain, an adorable sound to Yanjun but he didn’t say that out loud.  
“Then why did you stop misbehaving afterwards? One of your prefects had complained about you being too nice all of a sudden, kind of must have missed being able to complain about me after I had to stop giving you a hard time, huh?” Softly he reached forward to pinch the other’s cheek, missing their fullness of school days, before all that baby fat had grown out and this cheeky boyish brat had turned into a fully handsome young lad.  
“Wanted to impress you… And it’s not like it was that long! It was just a few weeks before your exam and then we were approaching summer holidays too… I was hoping if I just don’t run into you, these feelings will disappear and… I don’t know,” the younger snorted before turning onto his back, their gazes meeting as one looked up and the other down and those eyes, to Yanjun, were truly more intriguing and fascinating than any book could ever be. “I was made a prefect too and on my first day already I had to meet you on the train and you just… How did you dare dye your hair blond, you asshole!”  
This time around it was him to snort in amusement, again, shaking his head lightly only to see his black and damp strands of hair flying around his head and then falling onto his forehead again, only to be brushed back by slender digits paler than his own. “You had it combed back lazily that day, you looked really unfairly good… There was no way escaping you from then on, I couldn’t stop looking at you and you were always- always around- And-” Words were interrupted by a heaving sigh, then a gentle but lazy smile, but a short moment to give time to sort through thoughts and pictures, images and memories of the past. “Finally I was of a more equal standing to you, no more deducting house points from me and all that, it was suddenly so easy to give you a hard time but whenever I wanted to pick a fight with you about something the underclassmen did… I suddenly saw you, holding Bullfrog as I stepped into the train and passed by your cabin and it suddenly seemed so hard to do. But the worst were definitely those times we happened to be in the bathroom together!”  
Such words had him grinning and easily adjusting their positions, just so his husband was down on his back and he could hover above him, take in the sight of that oversized dress shirt he was quite sure was actually his part on top of a surprisingly firm chest, revealing defined collarbones, fingers curling into the blankets as if that would mean passing on the tension, no better than turning an electric current around, even when those thighs he loved to hold and grope and bite and kiss so much where parting to give room for his own legs and hips, a silent invitation for more that he could only welcome more in consideration of all that was separating their bare skin was but a meager shirt and the underwear the one beneath was wearing. “The bathroom, huh? And I had always thought you were avoiding me, with that way of hiding under the water or leaving immediately whenever I was around.”  
At least, that had been the way it had been like at first, it made him grin as he thought about his last year, after four years of meddling into businesses and one year of somehow getting closer, he still considered his final year the most entertaining one, with all the hiding and looking for secret spots, but also those times he recalled with a whisper, head lowered so he could whisper into the younger’s ear, feeling the trembles the little current of air caused to ripple through that lithe body, hear the little gasp he managed to lure out of rosy cheeks as he muttered, “Or were you rather thinking about those times I tainted your innocence?”  
For a moment, still, Zhengting seemed to be frozen, only to lead to two thumps against his chest of where clenched fists had met his ribs, making him laugh before he leaned in to press his lips against their match for a gentle and loving kiss, taking his sweet time to taste the toothpaste and goodnight tea alike, to lick into a mouth he knew better than his own, until his love was pliant beneath him and whining in a need of oxygen, and even then he went on for another few moments before he parted from the one below, smiling softly as he said, “I’m really glad you had fallen for me, you know? I would have missed out on a lot if it weren’t for you having been so eager to win me over. So maybe I should reward your efforts of then now, hm? What do you say?”

Starting from the first day of school, it really didn’t take long for the first day of snowfall to follow them, the white flakes starting slow, little white dots dancing through the winter that became fatter by the minute until there was a thick veil of white coming down onto the castle, and onto him watching it from one of the stone bridges, the steaming cup of coffee warming his hands as he had wrapped them around the ceramic, dots of snow melting in the steam unless it was for that moment of him basically inhaling the warm liquid to heat him up from inside, but he figured the memories he was recalling where already enough of that.  
That snow that reminded him much of the powdered sugar he liked to sprinkle in excessive amounts over his rolled pancakes wasn’t much unlike the one he had experienced in his youth, already in his first year as he had admired it from next to Zhangjing whenever they had passed between classes that now reminded him of how he should maybe contact his best friend after a long time again, hadn’t heard from the smaller one who had his own shops now, a funny little bakery that offered singing pastries for birthdays or serenading chocolates for Valentine’s, the hot beverages with enchanted steam that would transform into one’s favorite animal, sometimes even their Patronus, but also a little club, cozy with its plush couches and the house elf singing there, at times it would even be the owner himself, other times he allowed students coming by to sing whatever they wanted, usually if it was someone’s birthday or some other sort of celebration, it was just an unfortunate night if none of them happened to be able to sing…  
He was quite sure back then he had also celebrated their engagement at the club, during what must have been his third year or so as an Auror, it had been quite the expected turn of events, for one year he had been on his own, living in a one-room apartment close to where his parents lived, going to work and coming back home, it had been tiring, his free days he had spent going to Hogsmeade to meet Zhengting if it was a weekend and even if it hadn’t been, he had managed to get onto school grounds under whatever pretense, but he could only suspect to have been let off the hook due to the nature of their relationship, mercy taken on the distance put between their loving hearts, so it had felt like sweet relief, the day his boyfriend had officially graduated from Hogwarts and was even put into the same office within the Ministry as his, their working times so often overlapping, it had made sweet mornings of getting up together and sharing breakfast as they tended the spells lingering to take care of plants or keep the magic within their apartment hidden from humane eyes so utterly domestic, the kind of routine that had shown him even within short time that there was no way he would ever want to miss out on all this.  
From there on it hadn’t taken long for him to prepare it all, his mother, ever so knowing, ever so loving, had seemed to know his intentions since the first time he had introduced Zhengting to her and his father, so when he had returned to knock onto their door on a day as snowy as this one, she had already known and handed him a ring passed down within their family for years, always used for the durance of engagements, before it would be replaced by the married band, and the day he had finally dared to put the ring on that finger, they had gotten, now, not to say wasted, but definitely quite drunk at Zhangjing’s club where they had celebrated with all their friends and cheered onto their upcoming wedding date.  
It must have been the lenience of the magic world for them to be allowed to marry long before it was allowed in mundane realms, but he had never actually questioned it, could only remember this little glint in his mother’s eyes as she had opened the door for him and the tears welling in brown orbs as they had looked at the antique silver slowly passing the two knuckles, it had always been on days of snow similar to the one coming down upon him right now.  
Said snow, though, also worked quite well in reminding him of warming up his coffee once again, throwing in a little refill from the kitchen to make the mug filled to the brim all over again, and sometime in between the first flakes coming down and his drowning in long ago days, the yards and roofs had ended up covered in white, maybe it was just another mystery of the magical world, the way white would always come down so heavily while London was just a muddy and grey mess, it made him treasure their stay in their little flat more, being able to see those traces of winter surrounding them, especially whenever they put a spell on their walls to become invisible from the inside outwards, so they could observe the natural equivalent of sugar being sprinkled cover their surroundings even in the evening as they were dozing off in the warmth of their home and with the crackle of their fireplace just a few feet away from their bed.  
Now, too, it was calming him, in his relaxed hours between the last class of the day and dinner, even despite the darkness slowly spreading out around him, it was doing its works well on its own, but all things good would eventually come to a halt, this one taking place on his newest prefect, again, interrupting him, except Liron wasn’t disturbing the peace of the moment intentionally this time around, rather the young boy seemed to have been affected by the serenity of the day much like him, taking an afternoon stroll instead of studying but halting to take place next to him instead.  
The words interrupting the moment didn’t come immediately, rather there was some time of coming down first, moments during which they were just looking down at the yards, abandoned so far but he was certain that, once the snowfall had stopped, they would be filled with students throwing snowballs and magically building snowmen, enjoying their youthful days to the best of their abilities still, though, eventually the dreaded question had to come. “Sir, can I ask you something? About you and… you and your husband… Professor Zhu, I mean!”  
Admittedly, he could have prevented the silent snicker with ease but he didn’t feel like it much, could only raise one eyebrow as he turned his head to look at the student while turning to lean against the breastwork so he could observe the teenager better. “You were less embarrassed by catching us making out in the Dark Arts classroom so don’t act so timid now, will you?”  
“Yes, sir! I mean, I will, yes!” Yet it took a whole taking a deep breath and summoning bravery for the words to come out, time he felt more than lenient to give someone who deemed a matter worthy enough to fear it. “There’s… You weren’t of the same house but you still dated well, didn’t you? So did you- How did you- I mean, the confession and- Oh, I don’t know!” The exclamation was accompanied by a pained grown and head hiding between arms but to him it seemed merely amusing, it made him laugh out loud in a manner that was inappropriately cheerful but he couldn’t help it, not when it reminded him of a situation way too similar.  
Surprisingly, all throughout his school days he hadn’t managed to make a lot of connections, surely, people like Jinna, who had become prefect at the same time as him only to share the title of Head Girl and Head Boy in their final year, or Zhangjing had been an exception, but it might have taken until those days of Zhengting realizing his feelings he had learned to interact more, because the boy crushing on him had had a greater social circle and those friends, for whatever reason, had become curious of him as well, there had been the silent giant who had seemed to always look out for his peer, and nowadays he definitely would name Ziyi as one of his own closest friends, but it wasn’t the one calling everyone bro who he had to recall now, no, rather it had been another of those close friends of his now husband, Yanchen.  
Known for good looks and whatever not, he hadn’t remembered half of the gossip Zhangjing had told him at night in their room, he had been surprised to find Yanchen seeking him out while he had played with the Bowtruckles and even more so when he had realized just how pleasant the younger one’s company actually was, but the real shock had definitely come over him as they had walked back towards the castle halls, stopping on a bridge that wasn’t much unlike this one, the younger first and him once he realized he was a few steps ahead, it had merely taken him to turn around for his junior to ask, “If I want to confess to someone, how would you say I do it?”  
It was the kind of question one might think would be asked to friends, people they were close to, no way would he have expected to get asked such question from someone he had talked to properly only for the first time then, but it had happened, and even as he had asked about it years later, Yanchen had only shrugged it off, saying he didn’t know why he had asked that because he hadn’t originally intended to, it had led the older to only wonder about this incident all the more, why someone who had visited him without such intention would ask it regardless of that.  
Now, he thought, was quite a good day to bring back his answer of one so long ago, while still standing on a bridge surrounded by the falling snow, with so many changes and yet none, he found himself smiling at the adolescent boy who was still waiting for a possibly helpful reply, one he was quite willing to give, considering it had worked already years ago and quite well, must he say, seeing how Yanchen and Zeren had married not long after them. “Christmas is quite a pretty day, don’t you think? And I’m quite certain that Astoria has mentioned staying here because her mother had married again recently, she wanted to gift this holiday to the new couple. Coincidentally, I’m also quite certain she mentioned wanting to drink a cup of hot chocolate and that there’s a book she wants to read about astrology, and even further, coincidentally you have a teacher who knows just where to buy said book.”  
Stunned silence followed his words, during which he could feel Liron’s flabbergasted eyes staring at him as he was still calmly sipping his coffee and, sure, maybe he hadn’t given Yanchen exactly the same advice, but he could remember well he had told the younger to get his crush a present they would adore and to spend one of the days before or after the holiday together, merely because Christmas was meant to be celebrated with those one loves, but he wasn’t sure just how the confession between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw couple had played out, only that a few weeks later they had become an icon of a perfect relationship, an ideal for all those wanting to be in love just as much.  
“Sir… You’re really the best,” his student finally let out and, honestly, it was something he could only agree to so he was merely able to raise his hand to show a thumbs up when he was already hit with a snowball square in the face, followed by laughter echoing through the air, born from a window not so far away, his husband leaning out and the tip of the barely visible wand still glowing white from the magic used to conjure the offensive projectile.  
“You’ve never seen this happen,” he warned the prefect, not unlike the way he had reprimanded the younger on that day he had been caught kissing his husband senseless, and once he received the nod he had requested, he shushed the teenager away, sensing the next snowball coming up which he was barely able to deflect before it, too, would hit him, warding off the remaining few before they were both within the safety of the hallways indoor again, making sure to remind himself of sticking his tongue out at his love in a definitely not juvenile manner just to mock said one for still not being able to work past his defenses.

It started to feel like Christmas for real, standing in front of the giant Christmas tree, sparkling thanks to magicked up lights, glimmering in neutral white, as if to never take a side in that rivalry among the houses, and with candles burning cold littered around, flames never swaying with the wind that breezed through at times but still managing to look warm, the kind of warmth that didn’t come from actual heat but from a feeling deep inside, lingering and nostalgic of childhood days, and there were actual baubles, tinted in the colors of the respective houses, little imitations of each animal the four parties stood for, and it was a sight that hadn’t changed over the years, starting from the days he had seen it while attending these grounds as student himself, had caught one of the teachers setting it all up one night he hadn’t been able to sleep, and then made it a tradition to observe the spectacle every night, finding out at times even the headmaster would succumb to such deed, up to this night as he was swaying his own wand to move the decorations through the air until they were safely secured by invisible strings of magic or to make sure the spell wouldn’t fade away, making sure it would be one lasting for days and well, even despite knowing it would demand some of his energy to keep this one running without fail.  
So concentrated on his work, he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching him until there were two arms wrapping around his middle from behind, chin digging into the trim of his coat and hands looking for the warmth inside his pockets that were always so perfectly enchanted, not for him, because he could easily deal with having cold fingers, too familiar with the stiffness of using them for too long as he groveled in the dirt to plant seeds of new plants or as he cut frozen meat by hand just to make sure it was just the right size, but for the very one currently enjoying his indulging actions, and only when digits were safely buried in his pockets, there was a voice cutting through the silence of this night, “You remember our first kiss?”  
The question made him sneer, had been one he hadn’t been asked for so long now, yet it seemed so dumb to ask, it wasn’t like he could ever forget their first kiss, any of them, the many different kinds, the surprisingly timid little peck he had received first, during the last week of November in his sixth year, as he had been sitting in the library and crammed for a midterm test, he hadn’t realized someone had approached him, not unlike this scene some moments ago, but back then the underclassman had settled in the seat opposite him, had stayed there and maybe just watched, maybe made some schemes, he didn’t know, but when the librarian had declared they’d need to close for the night soon, he had been confused, startled, maybe even intrigued, by the fact that this sassy Slytherin had kept watch on him for Merlin knew how long, but instead of saying or asking anything, he had merely raised an eyebrow, face impassive as he had observed how the younger had tilted his head aside, cocking it in that way always done when asking for something, cutely demanding everyone to obey, only to grow frustrated with pubertal impatience as he had still not reacted in any way to this silent flirting, and then the new prefect had finally started talking on his own.  
“Don’t you think you owe me for before?” He could still hear Zhengting asking in that little whiny voice, the kind of tone that had him confused a bit because the tone, the sound, it had been too suggestive, the kind of pitch he’d rather hear in private, only to end up shaking his then blond dyed head because, no, he wasn’t supposed to think of such things, even though he hadn’t had any… actions, since the summer, when going back home for the summer break, meeting up with his friends from the neighborhood, going out, drinking, partying, trips to the misty seaside to start a bonfire and play a game of dares while getting drunk on whatever they had been able to get their hands on, and even though this little brat had kept him on the toes, acting so coy, so nice, looking for his proximity and acting as if trying to earn some gold stars, flirting so heavily, so openly, he was still quite sure such thoughts were off-limits, no matter the light time taking his thoughts astray, and so he might have been surprised the most about being able to still keep a straight face and probably infuriating the younger even more for he kept insisting, “Even though that Gryffindor clearly broke the rules, I had to let off just for you so you-”  
“Owe you?” He had finally interrupted the younger then, asking as he stood up, wooden legs of his seat scraping against the floor while he slammed his books shut one after another, a beautiful melody of furniture and literature, but his expression finally turning into a condescending sneer that, too soon, broke into a face of surprise when he found the boy suddenly standing in front of him, catching a whiff of what smelled like bonfire smoke and sugary punch, evidence of why he thought that voice was too lewd in the most adorable of ways, clearly he was the only one of the two of them in his right state of mind, regardless, it had him feeling somewhat curious of what was to come and he was surprised, to say the least, when feeling soft and sticky lips feather against one corner of his mouth, muttering words he couldn’t understand, unable to comprehend as he was too surprised by the situation and then, before he, too, or the younger on his own, could start anything worse, he reeled back, hips crashing into the table and sending books flying a few inches as he stared at the drunk lunatic with wide eyes.  
So maybe he wasn’t inexperienced, surely he had kissed more people than was good for him who claimed to be a homebody, rather staying home to read and learn about fauna and flora than going to clubs, loud places filled with music and sweaty people, he only had made exceptions for those more cozy nights, the bonfires, the get togethers at one of their homes whenever parents were out, but he had usually also been merry after drinks, making such deeds easier to get through, and to now be entirely sober, that was something he wasn’t used to, much less so from someone who had always seemed to attempt to make him upset for years, someone who was now, quite clearly, tipsy to drunk, and it would only make him feel bad in the end, for possibly getting accused of having taken advantage of someone inebriated later on, or for his own embarrassment for doing anything he wasn’t sure he wanted when he was clear in his thoughts, no matter how muddled from learning.  
“We shouldn’t…” Had been about all he had been able to say before they were interrupted by one of Zhengting’s friends calling for the lost one, and that he had taken as enough of a call to ensorcell all books to return to their places before he found his notebooks in his hands, scrambling to get away lest he was caught with the troublemaker and he had only been able to pray for those memories to get wiped from a drunken mind.  
Up until years he hadn’t been certain whether this had been a shared memory, and he hadn’t dared call it a real kiss either, despite the meeting of their lips, because it hadn’t been a decision made upon mutual agreement and want, so their first kiss remained a different one to him, one on a day that had been quite as becharmed by the sight of the marvelous tree in front of them but during a brighter and more sunlit hour of the day, their last day before Christmas break, to be exact, as he had stood there, with his bag in his hand, and just taken in the sight of the tall green shining and glinting and looking so utterly bright, already mourning the sight of it because they wouldn’t have one at home, his mother thinking it would have been too cruel to cut a plant down just to keep it as measly decoration, the cold of the snow seeping slowly through his boots and making his toes feel cold only to feel startled by a hand on his shoulder, nothing but a gentle tap to get his attention, which had made him feel quite surprised and utterly embarrassed about that too.  
“Yanjun, I…” It had been a surprise, seeing the usually so confident and cocky Zhengting suddenly blushing red, whether it was from the cold or emotions, and it had made him wonder whether it was merely a change of tactics, the juvenile desire to reach where the younger had wanted to get, namely, his pants, or his heart, he hadn’t known then, the realization that this blatant and outright flirting and fishing for attention hadn’t worked so now the coy act was up for display, but then all his doubts had fled him with this sense of honesty and earnestness tinted with shyness as the then smaller had gone on, “You must not like me the way I like you but… It’s a new year and before turning over a new leaf, with, you know, new year, new me, I just… As a Christmas present… Can I get just a kiss? Just one and… After the holidays I’ll leave you alone, alright? As much as I can so-”  
He had never gotten to hear the end of the little speech, already too busy gently cupping ruddy cheeks with his equally cold hands and keeping another head steady as he leaned in with his own, pressing his lips against their match slowly, gently, not in the desperate and drunk way he had done months ago in his town of living, unlike the way he would do in just a few days time when his friends found out he was back from boarding school, not clumsy and messy, that one had been a kiss he had wanted to take his sweet time on, tasting the strawberry chapstick off soft lips, wanting to see their swollen and tinted state, content with the way fragile digits had clung onto his stupidly left open jacket, a kiss he had granted because he had thought it was the least he could do to honor the bravery it must have taken that sly kid to confess so honestly, a reward for this new side he had gotten to see, but the longer he kept this moment going, the more he started to crave it, crave more, so easily ignoring the burn of his lungs as he lacked the air he needed to breathe and he wanted to blame the lack of oxygen already affecting his brain for this dumb desire while knowing it shouldn’t be enough to make his heart thump heavily beneath his ribs, and he didn’t know how long it had taken him to manage to do so but he was aware it had demanded quite some effort to finally pull back and part from the younger in his arms.  
“You tasted sweetly,” he finally said, to the Zhengting standing pressed against his back and the Zhengting slowly growing out childish features alike, and every kiss after he had tasted just as sweetly, sometimes of strawberries as that first time, sometimes of pineapple or coconut or vanilla, it had always been an experience, always something he could look forward to, even up to this day of standing in the snow again, but rather than looking forward to something he knew he’d get anyways, now that he was finished swinging his ward and letting it disappear into his coat sleeve again, he rather wanted to look at the one he wanted to get it from, easily managing to turn their position around so they could stand face to face, making sure slender hands were back to be tucked into his pockets as he drew his husband close to his chest, hand cupping a chiseled cheek, thumb tracing over the bone, well focused onto the shaded sight so he could still admire the way the way the other half was illuminated by a mixture of golden and white light, glowing in gentle golden hues in a way that was way softer than the formerly feared Auror should look, and it must have been so funny, had been, on those rare occasions he had been allowed to observe it, the way so many people had feared one of the top magicians only to be faced with this sneaky, flirty and disgustingly overly confident man.  
Those handful of years spent working for the ministry before they had been employed at the school had been interesting, a good way to learn, for him to learn about the beasts all over the world, being allowed to be sent to the country his family had come from, or also to Zhengting’s, learning about the beings he had only been able to read about before, it had made him feel envious of muggles founding zoos, being able to see animals living in areas unlike their own, because the magical world had no such thing, making getting to know the unknown so much harder. But it had also allowed him to meet his parents-in-law so often, the lovely couple that had moved back to the eastern country a while ago, after seeing how well their son had settled in already, and as much as he had worked on the relationship of what was his extended family as much had he worked on the relationship between the ministries of the countries that spoke his mother tongue and the one he had grown up in.  
“Are you ready by now?” A gentle voice intercepted his messy line of thoughts, the memories of the many steps their relationship had gone through, from sneakily making out in empty classrooms as students to meeting in the bathrooms of the ministry when they weren’t already working overtime and able to occupy desks in a whole new way, finally ending up in their current stage of getting caught by their students kissing in their respective rooms after class or sneaking in little kisses on the hallways, fleeting touches they only could miss whenever they were in their more conservative surroundings. “Ready for my mom’s bickering perfectionism and food needing to be done well and all the decorations sitting just right while dad is interrogating our relationship again and my sister showing off her kids and-”  
Similarly to so many years ago, he didn’t allow the younger to finish ranting this time either, way more interested in pressing a kiss onto those inviting cushions, silencing his love in this quite peculiar way ever so often again, because this was how he liked to do it, tasting the sweetness of apples and cinnamon that had been their spiked tea earlier, the raunchy taste of rum, was much better than having to listen to those complaints he got to hear every year again, ever since the first time they had started this tradition, celebrating together, as one big family.  
If he remembered right, it had been during his first year as an Auror and just months before Zhengting’s graduation then, on the second day after Christmas, that their families had come together as one to celebrate, just them and their parents, meeting for the first time in the comfort of the Lin household, an awkward evening of sipping his mother’s self-made tea, their fathers resting in silence and his now mother-in-law clearly not having been used to this middle class housing if the fame of his boyfriend’s family had been anything to go by, and it would have been an understatement to call it a disaster, had it not for the quite immature idea to just pour them some extra glasses of wine, resulting in their mothers discussing traditional Chinese dishes and their fathers talking whatever it had been they had talked, he could only remember the way he had been mesmerized by his dear slowly growing up, looking more matures after merely a few weeks of not having seen each other, how pretty he had looked with flushed cheeks and how sweet his intoxicated giggle had sounded, not unlike the enchanted little bells replaying the melody of one’s heart, how kissable those tinted cushions had been, with too much time having passed ever since their last one, and so it had been no surprise that, after their dessert had eventually finished, all he could recall had been the taste of flavored lips and the heat of another body pressed against his in his room upstairs, but it must have gone well from that point on, considering the year after their group had grown by Zhengting’s sister as they had settled to their cozy apartment instead.  
Air was lacking from his lungs after kissing for a while, the burn strong enough to remind him to pull back again, to now take his sweet time taking in the sight right in front of him, still mesmerized by that gentle glow cast by his own Christmas tree magic, now only further perfected with the swollen state of those lips he loved to taste so much and the lovely flush that was a mixture of the cold and arousal alike, looking more beautiful than anything he had ever seen, would ever be able to lay his eyes upon, because he was just that lucky to have met the most beautiful human of this time, someone who was so infuriating and yet so sweetly charming all within the span of just a few seconds, someone he wanted to take care of and indulge and yet someone he just wanted to fool around with, someone he could be childish and play around with, a man who was all this and all that, a man who was just simply perfect.  
“I’m ready to celebrate a day meant to be spent with your beloved ones with just these people, with the man I love and the two loving couples that allowed us to meet,” he said in the most earnest way possible, because he did actually mean it, despite all the trouble that brought along of having to decorate their apartment in exactly the right way and most definitely butchering a few of the dishes they were meant to prepare, it was only this one day they managed to get all of their family together as one, it was a day he appreciated, which didn’t mean he was shy to add, “But I’ll celebrate even more that we’re having some time off - no students, no school, no interruptions - and that I’ll be able to keep you tied to bed for most of the days, berry baby. I’ll celebrate that we have some time for us, no one to disturb us, interrupt us, and even if we spent New Year’s with all our friends, I won’t feel reluctant to focus on you and you alone.”  
There was a low hum, all of a response he was allowed to have for a little while Zhengting cuddled closer into him, habit of keeping his buttons open backfiring as his coat was just pushed back during the attempt to hug him, making him inhale sharply at the gust of wind that blew through his clothes and caressed his bare skin wherever it managed to slip past, eliciting a soft chuckle from in front of him that easily transformed into proper words, “I think I’m ready for that too…”  
“How great,” was all he managed to mutter before the urge to kiss the younger again grew too strong for him to be able to resist, pressing their lips together while spending the last of his mind a clean up hex and apparate them up into their local apartment, so perfectly warm and inviting and if he wasn’t exhausted from a long day, he’d take advantage of the warmth and already existing kiss until his love was limping into class next morning, well knowing it was something he had to hold off for another few days, until they were back to their London home, and then again, until the last days of school for this year had passed, one year that had passed standing beside his husband, and another that would follow with just this same predicament, another year of memories and of recalling memories, of little traditions and small habits meant to be pursued, until, eventually, they would reach this point again, two weeks ahead of Christmas, finishing up all the last things to be done and swimming in a sea created by their love.

**Author's Note:**

> Did anyone catch onto where I took Liron's name from? Gold stars for that haha
> 
> Since this is such a sweet AU idea actually, I wouldn't mind writing another part so if you have suggestions... [ or ](https://twitter.com/zhengjunist)[curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dadting)


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